Electronic document management system and method

ABSTRACT

A system and method automating the placement of paper documents into an electronic document management system. A document is faxed to a network server. The network server automatically receives the faxed document and converts it to a pre-determined file format, such as PDF. The converted document is placed in a staging directory including a list of faxed documents. The network server provides a graphical user interface that the transmitting user accesses over the Internet to access the staging directory. The user selects the faxed document from the staging directory, and indicates that it be moved to a particular storage area. The particular storage area may be a course page for a course offered by an educational institution.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.09/886,670, filed Jun. 21, 2001 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,625,265.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to electronic document managementsystems, and more particularly, to automating the placement of documentsin the electronic document management system.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Course materials, for example, documents and other information resourcesthat instructors make available to students, are traditionally kept inbinders on a “reserve shelf” of a library. Typical reserve materialsconsist of copies of previous exams, articles from scientific and tradejournals, homework solutions, excerpts from books, and the like.Generally, there is only one copy of a document placed on reserve.Furthermore, such document is traditionally available only forin-library use, on a short-term loan basis.

An emerging solution to the limitations presented in traditional reservemechanisms involve placing reserve materials on electronic reserve. Infact, with the growth of the Internet, electronic document delivery andstorage now extends far beyond course reserves to make all types ofdocuments available electronically. A significant fraction of thedocuments added to electronic databases, however, exist in anink-on-paper format. Those who administer such systems, for example,librarians, college faculty, and school teachers, are thus faced withthe task of first converting these paper copies to electronic formats,and then transferring the computer file(s) to an Internet server used tohouse an electronic documents database.

The current two-step process for placing printed materials on electronicreserve is unsatisfactory for many users in that the process may betime-consuming and potentially confusing to an average (non-technical)teacher, librarian, or administrator. Both the scanning and the filetransfer steps require some, if not considerable, technical expertise.Even someone skilled in the use of a scanner may sometimes struggle tocreate output files that are both of manageable size and of high displayquality. Many times, post-scanning image processing may be necessary toeither reduce the size of the output files and/or make them morelegible. Such post-scanning image processing is time consuming and alsorequires some technical knowledge.

Accordingly, there is a need for a system and method for automating theplacement of documents into an electronic reserves system. Such a systemand method should preferably cater to the needs of people with little orno technical expertise to facilitate the electronic placement of suchdocuments.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to an electronic document managementsystem that includes an input automatically receiving a facsimiletransmission of a document, a data store, and a processor coupled to theinput and the data store. The processor is configured to automaticallyformat the received document into a pre-determined format; save theformatted document into a first storage area of the data store; displaya list of documents in the first storage area; receive a user selectionof the formatted document from the list of documents; receive a userselection of a second storage area of the data store; and automaticallymove the formatted document from the first storage area to the secondstorage area.

In another embodiment, the present invention is directed to a method forelectronic document management that includes automatically receiving afacsimile transmission of a document; automatically formatting thereceived document into a pre-determined format; saving the formatteddocument into a first storage area of a data store; displaying a list ofdocuments in the first storage area; receiving a user selection of theformatted document from the list of documents; receiving a userselection of a second storage area; and automatically moving theformatted document from the first storage area to the second storagearea.

In a further embodiment, the present invention is directed to an articleof manufacture comprising a computer readable medium having computerusable program code containing executable instructions that, whenexecuted, cause a computer to perform the steps of: automaticallyreceiving a facsimile transmission of a document; automaticallyformatting the received document into a pre-determined format; savingthe formatted document into a first storage area of a data store;displaying a list of documents in the first storage area; receiving auser selection of the formatted document from the list of documents;receiving a user selection of a second storage area; and automaticallymoving the formatted document from the first storage area to the secondstorage area.

It should be appreciated, therefore, that the present invention helpssimplify the placing of paper documents into an electronic documentmanagement system. The users need no longer struggle with scanners,post-scanning devices, and manual file transfers which may be confusingand time-consuming for people with little or no technical expertise.Instead, a faxed document is automatically received by the networkserver, formatted, and stored electronically.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features, aspects and advantages of the presentinvention will be more fully understood when considered with respect tothe following detailed description, appended claims, and accompanyingdrawings where:

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of an automated electronic reservessystem according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a more detailed block diagram of a network server in theelectronic reserves system of FIG. 1 according to one embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of a process for receiving, processing, andretrieving faxed documents on electronic reserve according to oneembodiment of the invention; and

FIGS. 4A-4J are a series of graphical user interface displays allowing auser to interact with the network server of FIG. 2.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of an automated electronic reservessystem according to one embodiment of the invention. The systempreferably includes a facsimile machine 10 connected to a network server12 over a public switched telephone network (PSTN) 14. The networkserver 12 preferably resides in a high school, university, college, oranother institution where printed materials are either kept on a reserveshelf or placed on electronic reserve.

The system preferably includes a personal computer (PC) 16 connected tothe network server 12 via a wide area computer network, such as, forexample, a public internet 18. The network server 12 and PC 16 and maybe connected via cables or other transmission media, and may supportvarious data communication protocols such as, for example, an InternetProtocol (IP), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), or the like.

The system may further include a local PC 20 connected to the networkserver 14 over a network signal bus 22 configured to support and operateas a local area network. The particular configuration of the local areanetwork may be any one of a number of conventional networkconfigurations, whether serial or parallel, such as token-passingarchitectures, RS-232-type serial daisy-chains, serial arbitrated loops,and the like.

The PCs 16, 20 are configured to include at least a display screen 16 a,20 a, some form of I/O device 16 b, 20 b, such as a keyboard, keypad,and the like, and a network connection 16 c, 20 c for bi-directionalcommunication with the network server 12. In alternative embodiments,the PCs 16, 20 may be replaced or used in conjunction with other enddevices such as, for example, mainframes, file servers, workstations,business computers, personal digital assistants, television/set-top-boxunits, or the like.

The network server 12 preferably includes a mass storage device 24, suchas a hard disk drive, or drive array, which stores documents placed onelectronic reserve as well as other information and/or documents used bythe network server. The documents placed or to-be-placed on electronicreserve are preferably arranged in one or more directories, including atemporary directory, a staging directory, and one or more final reservesdirectories. The mass storage device 24 preferably maintains for eachdocument placed on electronic reserve, a document title, a total numberof pages contained in the document, a document file format, anassociated password, and the like.

The mass storage device 24 further includes user databases storing userauthentication information, such as, for example, usernames andpasswords, for allowing access to particular parts of the system.Preferably, the user database indicates whether a user is anadministrator, and provides administrative rights, such as creatingcourse pages and placing documents on reserve, to such administrativeusers.

In general terms, an authorized administrative user of the systemtransmits a document to the network server 12 for being placed onelectronic reserve, preferably through the facsimile machine 10. Thedocument includes but is not limited to library documents, faculty andcourse materials, copies of previous exams, articles from scientific andtrade journals, homework solutions, excerpts from books, and/or anyother type of printed material.

Alternatively, the document is a file residing in a remote location inPC 16 or in a local area network in PC 20. The file may be uploaded tothe network server 12 via the internet 18 or network signal bus 22,respectively. If the file resides in PC 16, the document is preferablytransmitted using a TCP/IP based file transfer protocol (FTP). Athird-party FTP application or an internal FTP code may be involved totransfer the file to the network server 12. Alternatively, PC 16 or 20is equipped with a facsimile modem which allows a document to be faxedto the network server 18 using the PC.

The network server 12 receives a faxed document and stores it into thetemporary directory. The document is then preferably converted to apre-determined file format, such as, for example, a portable documentformat (PDF), and moved to the staging directory under a new file name.The user may access the faxed document in the staging directory via agraphical user interface (GUI) provided by the network server 12 formoving the document from the staging directory to a final reservesdirectory. The user may, prior to moving the document to the finalreserves directory, use the user interface to view the document toverify that the transmission was successful. The final reservesdirectory may be a general directory or a directory associated with aparticular course page.

Once the documents have been placed in a final reserves directory, anauthorized user may access the documents using PC 16 or 20 through theinternet 18 or local area network. Preferably, the user may select,view, and/or print a document placed on electronic reserve via the GUIprovided by the network server 12.

FIG. 2 is a more detailed block diagram of the network server 12according to one embodiment of the invention. The network server 12preferably includes a processor including a GUI module 30, reservesplacement module 32, reserves retrieval module 34, fax module 36, andTCP/IP stack 38. The GUI module 30 is coupled to the reserves placementand retrieval modules 32, 34, and provides various interactive screensfor allowing a user of the PC 16 or 20 to interact with the networkserver 12 to place or retrieve documents on reserve and perform variousadministrative functions. One such administrative function includes thecreation of course pages to which a reserved document may be added.

The reserves placement module 32 preferably processes a receiveddocument for placing it in electronic reserve. Preferably, the reservesplacement module 32 converts a faxed document into a pre-determined fileformat, such as for example, PDF, and stores it in the stagingdirectory. The reserves placement module 32 may include commerciallyavailable third-party software such as, for instance, Adobe® Acrobat®Distiller®, manufactured by Adobe Systems Incorporated, of San Jose,Calif., for formatting the faxed document. The reserves placement module32 preferably further renames the faxed document for easy identificationand access by the transmitting user. The reserves placement module alsoallows an authorized user to move faxed documents from the stagingdirectory into a final reserves directory.

The reserves retrieval module 34 allows a user to retrieve a documentfrom a final reserves directory. The reserves retrieval module 34receives a user-selection of a particular document placed on electronicreserve and determines if the user is authorized to access the selecteddocument. If the user is authorized, the reserves retrieval module 34retrieves the document from the mass storage device 22 for display onthe display monitor 16 a or 20 a.

The reserves placement and retrieval modules 32, 34 are each coupled tothe TCP/IP stack 32 for communicating over the Internet. The TCP/IPstack 32 processes packets received and transmitted between the PC 16and network server 12 according to conventional methods. The TCP/IPstack preferably includes a built-in FTP code for allowing the uploadingof a document to be placed on reserve using FTP.

The reserves placement module 32 is also coupled to the fax module 36.The fax module 36 preferably allows the receipt of fax documentstransmitted by the facsimile machine 10, PC 16, or PC 20. The fax modulemay be implemented using a commercially available third-party softwaresuch as, for instance, WinFax PRO™, manufactured by Symantec Corporationof Cupertino, Calif.

It is understood, of course, that FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram ofthe network server 12 without obfuscating inventive aspects of thepresent invention with additional elements and/or components which maybe required by the network server. These additional elements and/orcomponents, which are not shown in FIG. 2 are well known to thoseskilled in the art.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of a process of receiving, processing, andretrieving faxed documents on electronic reserve according to oneembodiment of the invention. The process starts, and in step 40, the faxmodule 36 in the network server 12 determines whether a new document hasbeen faxed. If it has, the fax module 36, in step 42, proceeds toreceive the faxed document. In step 44, the network server 12 stores thereceived document in a temporary directory in the mass storage device24. In step 46, the network server 12 invokes the reserves placementmodule 34 for converting the faxed document to a pre-determined fileformat, renaming the converted document, and saving the document in thestaging directory of the mass storage device 24. Preferably, thedocument is renamed based on a date and time of receipt of the faxeddocument for allowing the transmitting user to easily identify thedocument.

In step 48, the network server 12 determines if a received document isto be placed on a final reserves directory. If it is, the network server12, in step 50, places the document into the final reserves directory.

In step 52, the network server 12 determines whether the user hasdecided to log out or otherwise quit or cancel a particular task. If theanswer is YES, the user is logged out or a particular task is canceled,and the process ends.

FIGS. 4A-4J are a series of graphical user interface displays allowing auser to interact with the network server 12. The graphical userinterface displays are preferably web pages associated with a websitehosted by the network server. The user preferably connects to thenetwork server via the internet 18 using the PC 16 to access the websiteand the various web pages.

FIG. 4A illustrates a course index display allowing a user to search fora particular course. The user may search for the course by selecting aparticular department 70 and/or instructor 72, if known, or directlyentering the name of the desired course 74. If the user searches by aparticular department or instructor, a list of courses offered by suchdepartment or instructor is preferably displayed.

FIG. 4B illustrates a display of various courses offered by a particulardepartment. Preferably, the courses are organized based on a coursenumber 80, course name 82, instructor name 84, and school term 86offering the course. A user may select a particular course for placingor viewing a document on electronic reserve for the course.

FIG. 4C is an illustration of a particular course page including a listof documents placed on reserve for the course. Preferably, the documentsare identified by a title 90, file format 92, and a total number ofpages 94. An administrative user of the system, such as, for example, afaculty member or librarian, may select a course to place a document onreserve upon actuation of a page management link 96.

FIG. 4D illustrates an administrative login screen display allowing theadministrative user to access the system for placing documents onreserve for the selected course. In this regard, the administrative userenters his or her username 114 and password 116, and actuates a loginradio button 118, causing the information to be transmitted to thenetwork server 12 over the internet 18. The reserves placement module32, or alternatively, a separate authentication module, determines ifthe transmitted information may be verified. If the information isverified, the user allows access to the system to perform documentmanagement functions.

FIG. 4E is an illustration of a screen providing access to the variousdocument management functions according to one embodiment of theinvention. The management functions may include adding, deleting, ormodifying a document or link entry in the course page upon actuation ofan add link 100, delete link 102, and modify link 104, respectively.

FIG. 4F illustrates a screen display upon actuation of the add link 100for allowing the administrative user to place a document on electronicreserve. The administrative user may upload the document to the networkserver 12 over the internet by actuating a transfer file link 110 on thedisplayed screen. If a particular document has previously been faxed, itis stored in the staging directory and the user may retrieve the faxeddocument by selecting a retrieve faxed document link 112.

FIG. 4G is an illustration of a screen display including a list of faxeddocuments in the staging directory. Preferably, each document in thestaging directory adheres to a pre-determined file format. Each documentis further identified by a filename 120 indicating the date and time inwhich the document was received. The display further indicates the timethat has elapsed 122 since the document was received. The document maybe removed 124 from the staging directory or selected for transferringto a final reserves directory associated with the course page. The usermay further preview the document prior to transferring it to the finalreserves directory.

FIG. 4H is an illustration of a screen display upon a user selection ofa document in the staging directory for transferring it into a finalreserves directory associated with the selected course. Theadministrative user preferably provides a document title 130 by whichthe document is to be identified on the course page, and the number ofpages 134 contained in the document. In addition, the administrativeuser provides a document password 132 that is to be used for accessingthe document once it is placed on reserve.

FIG. 4I is an illustration of a screen display with an updated list ofdocuments that have been placed on electronic reserve. Selection of oneof the documents preferably causes the display of a display screen asillustrated in FIG. 4J for allowing the user to enter a password 140 toaccess the document. The password is transmitted to the reservesretrieval module 34 which preferably verifies that the appropriatepassword has been provided. If the password is verified, the reservesretrieval module 34 retrieves the document from the mass storage device24 and displays it on the user's display 16 a or 20 a.

It should be appreciated, therefore, that the present invention helpssimplify the placing of paper documents in electronic reserve. The usersneed no longer struggle with scanners, post-scanning devices, and manualfile transfers which may be confusing and time-consuming for people withlittle or no technical expertise. Instead, a faxed document isautomatically received by the network server, formatted, and placed onreserve. The graphical user interface further provides ease andconvenience in placing a document on electronic reserve.

Although this invention has been described in certain specificembodiments, those skilled in the art will have no difficulty devisingvariations which in no way depart from the scope and spirit of thepresent invention. It is therefore to be understood that this inventionmay be practiced otherwise than is specifically described. Thus, thepresent embodiments of the invention should be considered in allrespects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the inventionto be indicated by the appended claims and their equivalents rather thanthe foregoing description.

1. An electronic document management system comprising: a fax modulewhich is configured for receiving a facsimile transmission of adocument; a data store; a processor; and additional modules coupled tothe fax module, the processor and the data store, wherein the processorand additional modules are configured to implement a method comprising:saving the document, which is received by the fax module, within a firststorage area comprising a temporary directory of the data store;automatically converting the faxed document from a first format into aformatted document having a predetermined format; renaming the formatteddocument from a first name to a second name; saving the formatteddocument into a second storage area of the data store, the secondstorage area comprising a staging area; receiving a user selection ofthe formatted document from a plurality of documents identified withinthe staging area; receiving a user selection of a third storage area ofthe data store, the third storage area comprising a final reservedirectory; and in response to the user selections, moving the formatteddocument from the second storage area, comprising the staging area, tothe third storage area, comprising the final reserve directory.
 2. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the method further includes associating theformatted document with information on when the facsimile transmissionwas received.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein the method furtherincludes assigning a password to the formatted document.
 4. The systemof claim 1, wherein the method further includes: receiving the assignedpassword; and retrieving the formatted document from the data store inresponse to the receipt of the assigned password.
 5. The system of claim1, wherein the third storage area of the data store, comprising thefinal reserve directory, is associated with a particular course offeredby an educational institution, and the formatted document is a materialassociated with the course.
 6. The system of claim 1 further including anetwork connection for receiving the document over a computer network.7. A method for electronic document management comprising: receiving afacsimile transmission of a document; saving the document within a firststorage area of a data store, the first storage area comprising atemporary directory; automatically converting the document from a firstformat into a formatted document having a predetermined format; renamingthe formatted document from a first name to a second name; saving theformatted document into a second storage area of the data store, thesecond storage area comprising a staging area; receiving a userselection of the formatted document from a plurality of documentsidentified within the staging area; receiving a user selection of athird storage area of the data store, the third storage area comprisinga final reserve directory; and in response to the user selections,moving the formatted document from the second storage area, comprisingthe staging area, to the third storage area, comprising the finalreserve directory.
 8. The method of claim 7 further comprisingassociating the formatted document with information on when thefacsimile transmission was received.
 9. The method of claim 8 furthercomprising assigning a password to the formatted document.
 10. Themethod of claim 9 further comprising: receiving the assigned password;and retrieving the formatted document from the data store in response tothe receipt of the assigned password.
 11. The method of claim 7, whereinthe third storage area is associated with a course offered by aneducational institution, and the document is a material associated withthe course.
 12. A method as recited in claim 11, wherein the userselection of the third storage area further includes a user selection ofthe course from the staging area, wherein the course comprises one of aplurality of educational courses for which the document can be reservedfor authorized access.
 13. A method as recited in claim 11, wherein thefinal reserve directory comprises a general directory.
 14. A method asrecited in claim 7, wherein the method further includes receiving atitle for the formatted document prior to moving the formatted documentto the final reserve directory, the title being distinguished from thesecond name, the title being used to identify the formatted documentwithin an interface associated with the final reserve directory andparticular education course.
 15. An article of manufacture comprising acomputer readable medium having computer usable program modulescontaining executable instructions that, when executed, cause a computerto perform a method comprising: receiving a facsimile transmission of adocument; saving the document within a first storage area of a datastore, the first storage area comprising a temporary directory;automatically converting the document from a first format into aformatted document having a predetermined format; renaming the formatteddocument from a first name to a second name; saving the formatteddocument into a second storage area of the data store, the secondstorage area comprising a staging area; receiving a user selection ofthe formatted document from a plurality of documents identified withinthe staging area; receiving a user selection of a third storage area ofthe data store, the third storage area comprising a final reservedirectory; and in response to the user selections, moving the formatteddocument from the second storage area, comprising the staging area, tothe third storage area, comprising the final reserve directory.
 16. Thearticle of manufacture of claim 15, wherein the method further includesassociating the formatted document with information on when thefacsimile transmission was received.
 17. The article of manufacture ofclaim 15, wherein the method further includes assigning a password tothe formatted document.
 18. The article of manufacture of claim 17,wherein the method further includes: receiving the assigned password;and retrieving the formatted document from the data store in response tothe receipt of the assigned password.
 19. The article of manufacture ofclaim 15, wherein the third storage area is associated with a courseoffered by an educational institution, and the document is a materialassociated with the course.